Update 6pm: Eleven crew members have been evacuated after the Saga Sky cargo ship took on water off the English coast today.

ENGLAND: A Vauxhall Zafira owner received a letter telling him his car would be recalled on the same day it burst into flames.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has drawn up plans to axe 200 jobs as it cuts back its branch network.

David Cameron insisted he is “pumped up” and “bloody lively” as he sought to quell criticism of low-key election campaigning.

WALES: A man has completed his challenge to push a Brussels sprout up Snowdon using his nose, the BBC reports.

Many people were waking up in fear of flooding this Christmas morning, as downpours of heavy rain continued to bring misery to parts of Britain.

Rail passengers and motorists were facing further misery today as the great Christmas getaway was stalled by continued wet weather, and floods hit homes and shops.

A community in England has raised over €4,000 for the victims of a crash that claimed the lives a Cork couple’s two children.

Dawn Meats has confirmed the acquisition of West Devon Meats, a beef and lamb abattoir in the south-west of England for an undisclosed sum.

American utility PPL snapped up its second major UK electricity network today after striking a deal worth £3.5bn (€4.1bn) with Germany’s E.ON.

British bomb disposal experts will today be sent into a flat at the centre of an alleged terror plot connected to the G20 summit in London this week.

IT HAS emerged that Eric Dowling, nicknamed “Digger” for helping excavate tunnels used in the breakout from a World War II German prison camp that became known as the “Great Escape”, has died aged 92.

POLICE in Britain have arrested more than 500 suspects in a crackdown on human trafficking in the sex trade, the government said yesterday.

GLASTONBURY music festival wrapped up last night with a double bill of golden oldies following controversy over its first ever hip-hop headliner, Jay-Z, and troubled star Amy Winehouse.

THE mother of murdered British teen Scarlett Keeling said yesterday she would ask a court in the Indian beach resort state of Goa for protection, saying she feared the local drugs mafia.

A REGISTERED nurse and her husband were arrested yesterday on suspicion of murdering five elderly residents at a care home in south-west England, police said.

THE World Cup hangover continued for Ireland yesterday with a second heavy defeat in the Friends Provident Trophy, at Taunton, and the loss of Andre Botha for at least two weeks with a dislocated finger.

A WIDOW died from stress brought on by demands for money from psychics operating from Ireland, her family have claimed.

TOP Gear presenter Richard Hammond was discharged from Leeds General Infirmary yesterday with his consultant neurosurgeon optimistic he would make a full recovery and be “back to his old self” within six months.

A TEDDY bear formerly owned by Elvis Presley was destroyed when a guard dog supposed to protect it went on the rampage.

Torrential rain caused flooding chaos throughout Britain today with emergency services stretched to the limit.

EDWARD HEATH, the British Prime Minister who took Britain into Europe, died last night. He was 89.

BOB GELDOF promises it will be the greatest concert ever, as the Live 8 gigs kick off today and hundreds of pop stars leave their egos backstage to raise awareness of poverty in Africa.

MG and Rover enthusiasts today turned out in force to show their support for workers at the threatened British car giant.

Blizzards and severe gales were expected to sweep across Scotland tonight as yet another severe weather warning was issued.

More heavy rain is set to hit the coastal area where a village was devastated by a freak deluge.

Oasis wildman Liam gallagher was forced to plea with security guards at Britain's Glastonbury festival on Saturday - so he could chat backstage with Paul McCartney.

Julian White has played second fiddle to England prop Phil Vickery this season but the Saracens tight-head admitted: ‘‘I’ve got no argument with that at all.’’